Foes gashing Capers' defense

For nearly a dozen years the Dolphins' defense, particularly Pro Bowl defenders Zach Thomas and Jason Taylor, has carried its offensive brethren on its backs.

More of the same was expected this season as first-year coach Cam Cameron reshaped the offense, while defensive coordinator Dom Capers was basically bringing back a star-studded, veteran-laden fourth-ranked defense, which was augmented by three-time Pro Bowl linebacker Joey Porter. Instead, the winless Dolphins enter Reliant Stadium today to take on the 2-2 Houston Texans with an improving offense that's being held back by a shattered defensive unit, one that appears as if it was gashed by a Texas twister instead of unheralded running backs and gimpy quarterbacks.

Even the well-respected, highly paid Capers, who was fired after guiding the fledgling Texans (2002-05) to four losing seasons, is under fire for directing the 21st-ranked defense that is last in run defense (199.3 yards per game), last in third-down conversion defense (51.8 percent failure) and 30th in scoring defense (29.8 points).

Suddenly, Cameron and Capers are using words and phrases like "reinventing, reconstructing, a work in progress" when referring to a defense, that seems to have aged overnight.

"I think it's a great example of how fast things can change in this league," Capers said Thursday. "The only constant is change. What has been a strength, due to injury and change and that type of thing, now we're kind of in the process of kind of reinventing ourselves up front."

Defensive tackle Rod Wright will be making his first NFL start for Vonnie Holliday (ankle). Thomas may return after missing the last two games while battling a concussion, and starting weakside linebacker Channing Crowder is a game-time decision with a sprained ankle. Capers is also reworking the injury-decimated back end, which lost Donovin Darius (calf) Saturday and will be starting his fifth different strong safety - Cameron Worrell - in five games today.

Still, if Capers and Cameron believe in four locker room signs reading, "No excuses," they won't use injuries as reasons for a Dolphins defense allowing 30 points or more in three consecutive games for the first time since 1995, or the most points (119) through the first four games since the '86 season (142).

"I don't look at [stats]," Capers said. "I look at what can we do to improve. ... I've seen things to where two or three plays, you can go from the top to the bottom or the bottom to the top."

While nearly every defensive starter questioned last week stuck up for Capers, Holliday did say after the frustrating Game 3 loss to the Jets that he felt "outschemed."

Porter, 30, who missed the entire preseason while recovering from arthroscopic knee surgery, said he's tired of banging heads with 300-pound defensive tackles instead of standing up and rushing quarterbacks in Capers' patented 3-4 alignment.

"He's not the one out there doing the tackling. All he could do is call the defense," said Porter, who excelled in a Pittsburgh defense that was originally crafted by Capers. "The pressure shouldn't be on him. It's on the players."

A frustrated Taylor, the reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year, is tired of having offenses dictate to his unit, instead of the other way around.

"Teams are dictating to us," said Taylor, who has just 16 tackles and one sack while committing six penalties in the last two games. "It's like the old saying, 'It ain't no fun when the rabbit's got the gun.' "

Thomas, 34, has repeatedly said the offseason departures of veteran defensive linemen such as Kevin Carter, David Bowens and Jeff Zgonina have taken its toll on the defensive depth.

"When I was there, we took so much pride in stopping the run," said Zgonina, a backup on the Texans. "We took it personally. Some of us are gone, so I guess you could say they're rebuilding in a way."

Ex-Houston General Manager Charley Casserly believes his former charge has the temperament and experience to turn things around quickly.

"He can't control injuries, players who aren't there anymore or players who aren't playing as well as a year ago," said Casserly, the NFL Insider for CBS-TV. "One thing's for sure, Dom is a good football coach and he's part of the solution, not the problem."